1. Field
This disclosure relates to a system architecture and method for handling and processing substrates such as magnetic disks, touch-screens, etc., and more specifically, to a system and method for improved process flow of a substrate carrier in a substrate processing system using combined static and pass-by processing.
2. Related Art
Substrate processing, such as the fabrication of magnetic disks, touch-screens, etc., is a complex and complicated process. Large, customized equipment is required to carry out the numerous unique steps of pre-heating, coating a substrate with multiple layers, then annealing and/or cooling the substrate. Machines for processing substrates usually have a large footprint, and require a significant amount of space to operate. Additionally, the machines need to be operated in high-tech clean rooms, which are expensive to build and maintain. Therefore, it is advantageous to reduce the overall footprint of the substrate processing machines.
It is also desired to improve the processing speed at which each substrate unit is fabricated so as to maximize the value, i.e., throughput, of the equipment. Improving the processing speed is somewhat challenging, since many processing steps have a minimum required time that a particular coating must be applied, heated, or cooled in order to properly fabricate a substrate. Additionally, uniformity of the processing over the surface of the substrate is critical for proper performance of the resulting product. Consequently, some processes require static processing, i.e., the substrate is held stationary while processing, while other processes require pass-by processing, i.e., require the substrate to be continuously moved during processing.
To this end, current technology, such as the 200 Lean® system manufactured by Intevac, Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif., offer solutions to reduce the overall footprint of the system. The 200 Lean® is described in further detail in U.S. Pat. No. 6,919,001 (hereafter “the '001 patent”), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety. As described in the '001 patent, the system may be operated so as to provide static processing or pass-by processing. Other systems have been described in the art that enable static or pass-by processing.
International Patent Publication No. WO 2006/026886 A1 (hereafter “the '886 publication”) also describes a substrate processing system with two stacks of processing chambers to reduce the footprint. Much like the 200 Lean® system described in the '001 patent, the '886 publication describes a lift module to transport a substrate from one stack to the next, and the use of magnetic means, i.e., linear motor, for the transport of the substrate carriers.
However, current systems do not provide workable solution for combining both static and pass-by processing in a single linear system. Therefore, what is needed is an improved substrate processing system that minimizes footprint while enabling both static and pass-by processing.